Method of sewing using a self-basting thread



METHOD OF SEWING USING A SELF-BASTING THREAD Filed June 4, 1964 June 25, 1968 J. T. WRIGHT ET AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS JOHN T. WRIGHT W/LL/AM I WR/GHT P575? P- Du B/EL BY ATTORNEYS June 25, 1968 J. 1-. WRIGHT ET AL 3,390,036

METHOD OF SEWING USING A SELF-BASTING THREAD Filed June 4. 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV'ENTOR (JOHN T WRIGHT WILLIAM R. WRIGHT PETER R Du BI'EL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,390,036 METHOD OF SEWING USING A SELF-BASTING THREAD John T. Wright, Longmeadow, William R. Wright, Warren, and Peter P. Du Biel, Springfield, Mass., assignors to Wm. E. Wright & Sons Co., West Warren, Mass., a

corporation of Delaware Filed June 4, 1964, Ser. No. 372,584 4 Claims. (Cl. 15693) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for making textile articles by releasably adhering two fabrics together with a pressure sensitive adhesive filament disposed between the fabrics and generally parallel with the edges thereof to be sewed together and thereafter permanently sewing said fabrics together.

This invention relates to the fabrication of textile garments and household articles, and more particularly to methods and means for use in home sewing which eliminate the need for basting and pinning preliminary to final sewing of a textile garment or household article.

The invention pertains to a universal substitute for basting and pinning whereby any two fabrics are temporarily and releasably held in a desired relationship, such as will permit fitting, adjustment and final sewing.

As disclosed in our copending application, Ser. No. 363,202, filed Apr. 28, 1964, in making a garment, such as a dress, there are on the order of 115 steps. The majority of these steps include either pinning or basting, removing pins or basting stitches to adjust the relative position of fabrics or garment components, and repinning or rebasting after fitting and adjustment. These steps are preliminary to final sewing and require a great majority of the time and skill involved in making a garment.

in making a garment or the like, it is necessary to temporarily assemble by pinning or basting to enable the article to be inspected as it will look in its assembled condition, and if the article is a garment, to enable the garment or a component thereof to be tried on to permit adjustment before final, permanent sewing. To make any adjustment it is therefore necessary to remove basting stitches and/or pins and repin or rebaste the fabrics in the correct relationship.

- In accordance with Websters Dictionary baste is defined as to sew loosely or with long stitches, esp. to hold the work temporarily (emphasis added). While it is the function of basting to hold fabrics or garment components temporarily in their garment-forming relationship for fitting, adjustment and final sewing, the longer and looser are the stitches the less accurate and professional looking will be the final result. In this regard, when machine sewing two fabrics which have been basted together, the problem of creep is encountered. This problem is fully described in applicants copending application, referred to above, and may be summarized as the shift or movement of one fabric relative to the other under the influence of the sewing machine feed dog which engages the bottom fabric for advancing the fabrics in a series of successive steps past the needle. If creep occurs, it may necessitate ripping out all the permanent stitches and restitch the fabrics. While the stitching can be corrected, removal of stitches leaves perforations in the fabric which are quite noticeable in certain types of close weave fabrics.

It is the concept of this invention to temporarily hold two fabrics together in a desired relationship, without piercing the fabrics, so that on the one hand fabrics can be easily separated and repositioned, but which nevertheless securely retains the fabrics in predetermined relation 3,390,036 Patented June 25, 1968 during final sewing whereby the problem of creep is eliminated.

It may thus be said that this invention provides means for temporarily positioning textiles which is paradoxically more temporary than either pinning or basting but more secure for final sewing in a sewing machine.

The principal object of this invention is to simplify home sewing by eliminating the age old technique of temporarily positioning fabrics by either pinning or basting.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adhesive filament, hereinafter referred to as a basting filament or selfwbasting thread, as a highly effective and easy-to-use substitute for pinning and basting.

A further object of this invention is to provide a basting filament as an article of commerce which serves to eliminate basting and pinning and can be used with equal effectiveness along straight or curved edges.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from the following description and with reference to the: accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view showing one method of making a basting filament embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, on a greatly enlarged scale, of a filament embodying the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, with parts cut away, showing the basting filament in one type of applicator or dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational View of the dispenser of FIG. 3, with parts cut away; and

FIGS. 5-9 show steps in the process of garment fabrication using a basting filament embodying this invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view illustrative of a suitable method and apparatus for making a basting strand or filament embodying this invention. As shown, a suitable thread, strand or filament 2 is unwound from a roll and coated with a suitable pressure sensitive adhesive 4. Coating may be accomplished in any suitable manner such as by conducting the thread or filament 2 through an extruder or reservoir, represented at 6 in FIG. 1, containing pressure sensitive adhesive for coating the thread. The size of the extruder nozzle or orifice and the speed of the advance of the thread 2 are selected for the viscosity of adhesive being used to provide a thin coating or layer of adhesive on the outer surface of the thread.

The adhesive coated thread 8 may then be advanced through a heating zone represented by the heat source or oven 10 which causes evaporation of any aqueous or organic solvents used as the dispersing medium for the adhesive. Where a curable or polymerizable resin type adhesive is employed for coating the thread 2, the heat of oven 10 is made sufficient to cause cure or polymerization of the adhesive. Of course, solvent evaporation, polymerization and resin cure depend on a time-temperature relationship so that the temperature of the heat source and speed of the thread are selected to achieve the desired result. For example, using an acrylate polymer type adhesive, it has been found that a temperature of 300 F. and a transit time of 5 seconds will produce a suitable result. By evaporation of the volatile elements and/ or cure of the adhesive, the adhesive is changed from a viscous liquid to a non-flowing gelatinous substance tacky at room temperatures. The adhesive selected must have sufiicient adhesion for various fabrics and garment components made from the fabrics can be releasably bonded together for trying on, adjustment of the fabrics, if necessary, and resticking for final sewing.

It has been found that by the extruding method .described, that a partially polymerized and viscous adhesive can be applied uniformly to the thread. Adhesives, such as an acrylic copolymer in a suitable organic solvent such as ethyl acetate, having a viscosity in the range of 10,000-

20,000 cps. have been found suitable for purposes of this invention. In this viscosity range, the acrylic adhesives form a tacky coating on the outer surface of the thread, such as is shown in FIG. 2, and are found to have excellent shelf life, excellent adhesion to various fabrics, retackability and non-toxicity.

It is preferable that the thread be a fibrous material and may be made of cotton, silk, rayon, nylon or the like. When applied in the proper viscosity range, the adhesive penetrates or is absorbed by the thread and after heating, the adhesive gels so as to be anchored in a layer around the thread as a core. The gel of the adhesive used is characterized by greater cohesive strength than adhesion. In this manner, the adhesive coating is so anchored to the thread that it can be stuck and pulled off a fabric Without the adhesive releasing from the thread and leaving a residue. Thereafter the adhesive bearing thread can be restuck to the fabric. A most important aspect of this invention is that the adhesive carrying thread not interfere in any way with the normal operation of the sewing machine needle. The possibility of such interference is minimized by the use of minimum diameter thread coated with a thin layer of adhesive having great adhesive strength with minimum surface contact. Furthermore, as will be hereinafter described, the selfbasting thread is applied from an applicator which insures that thread is not disposed along the permanent sew line.

In accordance with this invention, in its broad sense, the thread may be any flexible core capable of serving as a carrier for a pressure sensitive adhesive, and preferably one to which the adhesive is anchored with a high degree of retentivity.

After heating, the adhesive coated filament or thread 8 may be Wound on a carrier, such as the spool or tube shown at 12 in FIG. 1. Alternatively, a fiat card or any other type of carrier may be provided for the adhesive carrying filament. The spool 12, or card if such is used, should be made from or surfaced with a release material 13, which may be a plastic, such as polyethylene, r silicon coating having low adhesion for the adhesive used. The release material enables the self-basting thread to be readily unwound from the spool without sticking. In this connection, the spool surfacing material is preferably selected so that the adhesive will adhere slightly to the tube so that the turns of the thread will remain as placed during windup. In spooling the thread, as shown, the spool may be moved so that each of the turns of the thread are spaced apart sufficiently so that they can be unwound without danger of sticking together. The self-basting thread may also be wound on a spool, turn-upon-turn with the superimposed turns separated by a release strip.

Adhesive coated thread embodying this invention is preferably marketed in a suitable dispenser or applicator, one such being shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in this embodiment, the spool wound, adhesive-bearing thread 12 is disposed within a container 14 made of any suitable material, such as cardboard, plastic or the like. The dispenser may be formed of two half shells 15 and 16 secured together in assembled relation in any suitable manner. The spool wound self-basting thread is rotatably disposed in the dispenser which is provided with an opening 18 for unspooling the self-basting thread.

At the open end of the container, means is provided for applying the thread directly to a fabric without handling the tacky thread with the finger. As shown the applicator means comprises a roll 19 disposed with its axis at a right angle to the axis of the spool 12 so that the thread can be easily unwound from any location on the spool. As shown the roll 19 is grooved in the manner of a pulley, thus serving as a guide for the thread as it is applied to a fabric. Outwardly of the roll 19 is a pair of rolls 20 and 21 disposed generally parallel to the spool 12. The roll 21, and particularly its outer surface, is disposed outwardly of the neck portion of the container 14 so that the self-basting thread can be pressed and rolled directly onto a fabric by the roll 21. The neck of the dispenser may be provided with outwardly extending flanges 22 which serve as a guide so that the thread can be readily applied inwardly of the fabric edge a predetermined distance, preferably from to /2 inch from the edge.

The container 14 may be made of a transparent plastic so that the supply of basting thread can be observed by the user at all times. The two halves may be constructed to be snap fitted together for ease of loading or replacement of the spool of self-basting thread.

To apply a self-basting thread using the dispenser shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is only necessary to invert the dispenser and press the thread 8 against the fabric by means of the outer roll 21. Once started, it is a simple matter to move the dispenser on roll 21 parallel to the edge of the fabric whereby the roll 21 firmly presses the self-basting thread on the fabric. It will be noted that the dispenser roll 21 can be moved with equal facility in a straight line or around a curved edge such :as on a sleeve, collar, pocket or the like.

Self-basting thread embodying this invention may be marketed in various diameters depending upon the fabric with which it is to be used. In this connection with thin closely woven fabrics, small diameter thread is used having a minimum amount of adhesive on its outer surface while still providing firm adhesion to the material. Conversely with coarse heavy fabric, such as wool, the thread may be larger in diameter and carry a relatively greater quantity of pressure sensitive adhesive so that two coarse fabrics are held together securely for fitting and are capable of being stuck and restuck to the fabrics to permit a number of fitting adjustments, and thereafter have sufficient tackiness remaining to hold the fabrics during final sewing without creep.

Adhesive carrying filament, or self-basting thread may be used to perform all the various tasks heretofore accomplished by pinning or basting. One exemplary method of using the self-basting thread is shown in FIGS. 5-9. A portion of a textile fabric 24 cut in the form of a bodice is shown. One or more lengths of self-basting thread 26 is applied along the edge portions of the bodice fabric 24. As shown, the self-basting thread 26 is applied to the finished or pattern side 25 of the bodice fabric 24. The self-basting thread is stuck generally parallel to the edges of the fabric and on the order of inch from the fabric edge inasmuch as the sew line is usually inch from the fabric edge. In this way the self-basting thread will be disposed within the finished garment. The selfbasting thread may be applied as a continuous length, or separate lengths may be used for each seam. Thus one length may be applied along the shoulder seam edge, shown at 27, and another length along the side seam edge 29. The use of separate lengths of self-basting thread permits separate and independent adjustment of each seam or portion thereof.

It should be noted in FIG. 7, that a self-basting thread 26 embodying this invention is equally flexible in any direction and thus can be placed to follow along a curved edge, such as along the edge of the pocket forming fabric 28- of FIG. 7, as easily as along a straight edge. This is an important aspect of the invention and it is for this reason that a thread or filament is employed as the adhesive carrier. It is also important that the adhesive coated carrier be of minimum diameter while providing the adhesive strength necessary to enable fabrics and garment components assembled therewith to be fitted without coming apart and sewn without creep of one fabric relative to the other. Minimum diameter is also important because the self-basting thread remains in the finished garment and it is essential that no unnatural rigidity or stiffness be imparted to the garment. Moreover, as previously pointed out, since the fabric and garment components are permanently sewn together along or adjacent the location of the self-basting thread, it is important that the adhesive not interfere in any way with the normal operation of the sewing machine needle. Any such possibility is, of course, minimized by using a small diameter self-basting filament. Furthermore, sewing is generally done about inch from the fabric edge and the dispenser shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has guides 22 to insure uniform application of the selfbasting thread inch from the fabric edge.

When the self-basting thread or thread portions have been stuck to the finished face of the bodice forming fabric 24, the other bodice forming fabric 30 is placed face down on the fabric 24 with its edges disposed in registered edge-to-edge relation with the first fabric. At any time during the process the fabrics can be pulled apart and restuck together, or if necessary the thread itself can be pulled off the fabric and restuck in another location. The two fabrics 24 and 30 may be joined in assembled relation by simply pressing the fabrics with the fingers along the sew line of the fabrics.

The assembled bodice may then be turned rightside out as shown in FIG. 8, and tried on for fit. Any required adjustments can be noted, estimated or appropriately marked and adjustments can be made, by simply pulling the fabrics apart and resticking together to obtain the proper fit. As shown, the pocket fabric 28 may be stuck to the bodice, moved and adjusted until it is located in exactly the desired position.

All other garment components, including all types of trims and findings, or fabrics for garments or household articles may be fabricated in a similar manner using selfbasting thread. Garment components, such as sleeves, skirts, collars and bodices may be assembled with one another by using self-basting thread embodying this invention.

In using self-basting thread, embodying this invention, it is applied, using a dispenser, slightly outwardly of the sew line of a fabric to be seamed to another fabric. When this is done and the fabrics are finally sewed together as shown at 32 in FIG. 9, then turned rightside out, the permanent stitches will invariably be outward of the adhesive carrying thread which is inside the garment. There is thus no possibility of adhesive being exposed to collect dust or lint on the outside of the garment.

In our copending application Ser. No. 363,202, a method is disclosed for releasably holding trims and findings in place for fitting, adjustment and final sewing using one or more bands of pressure sensitive adhesive carried on the trim or finding. As illustrative examples there were disclosed seam binding, bias tapes, rickrack and zippers. Of course, it will be realized that these and any other trim or finding could be applied using an adhesive carrying, self-basting thread in place of the bands of adhesive. In using the self-basting thread in these applications it would preferably be disposed inwardly of the permanent sew line so that the adhesive cannot be exposed by turning back the edge of the trim or finding.

While this disclosure shows a number of illustrative embodiments, it is within the scope of the invention, in its broad aspect, to releasably or temporarily hold two fabrics together by means of pressure sensitive adhesive in filamentary form disposed between the fabrics, along 6 or adjacent to the final sew line, and so placed as to be inside the sew line or inside the finished garment.

In contrast to the conventional pinning and basting required in conventional sewing processes, this invention enables temporary positioning of the parts and components of a garment easily and quickly by running ones fingers along the approximate sew line of the fabrics which are then stuck together by a self-basting thread instead of pins or bastin stitches. The adhesive bond is sufficient to permit the components to be fitted for appearance. If adjustment is required the parts are simply pulled apart and restuck together in the desired relationship. The self-basting thread can be moved and restuck if necessary. These adjustments can be repeated until the parts are just so. Then the self-basting thread serves the additional function in the final sewing of the fabrics by eliminating the tendency of one fabric to shift or creep relative to the other fabric.

While this invention has been described generally for use in home sewing, it is within the scope of this invention that self-basting thread may also be used in commercial production of garments and various other textile articles.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed 1. Method of making textile garments and the like comprising the steps of disposing two fabrics in predetermined overlapping relationship, providing an adhesive filament formed of a thread-like core coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive anchored to said core, said adhesive being of greater cohesive than adhesive strength to permit the filament to be stuck and restuck to said fabrics without leaving substantial residue thereon, placing said filament between said fabrics generally parallel to the facing surfaces and to the edges thereof, said adhesive filament permitting said fabrics to be readily separated and restuck, and with said filament holding the fabrics, finally sewing said fabrics together.

2. Method of making textile garments and the like as set forth in claim 1 in which said adhesive is an acrylate polymer.

3. Method of making textile garments and the like as set forth in claim 2 in which said polymer has a viscosity in the range of 10-20,000 cps., and said thread-like core is a fibrous thread.

4. Method of making textile garments and the like as set forth in claim 1 in which said adhesive is a cured acrylate polymer anchored to the core, said adhesive and core forming throughout its length a filament of generally uniform flexibility throughout its length,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,931,747 4/1960 Dexter 161--167 X 2,922,167 1/1960 Berlin 2243 2,657,159 10/1953 Nahman 2243 2,411,328 11/1946 MacNab 2243.2 2,292,024 8/1942 Dreher 161----167 3,137,864 6/1964 O tmElnn 2-243 ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner.

JACOB H. STEINBERG, Examiner.

M. A. LITMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

